Overlay Crochet Heart Tutorial Firstly I recommend having a quick look at my Stitch Abbreviations and Glossary page on the blog, just so you know what s going on. Little bits of leftover yarn are perfect for this project. I used Vinnis Colour Nikkim Yarn. It s a DK so I used a 4mm hook. You can use any yarn you like though, just remember that thinner yarn will yield smaller hearts and thicker yarn will yield larger hearts. Try to keep your tension as even as possible, especially when it comes to the FPTCs. ROUND 1 Begin with a magic ring. CH 2, 6 DC, 1 HTC and 6 DC, CH 2 and SS into the magic ring to finish off the center heart. At this point you want to tighten the magic ring but keep the SS quite loose because you re going to start and finish the next round by going into that stitch. 13 ST in total ROUND 2 Change colour CH 3, * 2 DC into ST, repeat five times **, 1 DC into the next ST (so far you should have 11 ST. This is the right side of the heart - or for the right handed people- the left side) 1 DC, 1 HTC and 1 DC into the next ST (this is the point of the heart), 1 DC into the next ST, and repeat from * to **. Finish the row with CH 3 and a SS through the SS from ROUND 1, which you can now pull tight. Keep the new SS loose enough to get the hook through at the end of the round. 25 ST in total
ROUND 3 Change colour CH 2, 1 SC, 1 FPTC (Front Post Treble Crochet), 1 SC, repeat six times with the first FPTC going around the first CH 3 of ROUND 1 (at this point you should have 18 ST.) 1 FPTC, 1 HDC, 1 FPTC (the point of the heart.) 1 SC, 1 FPTC, 1 SC, repeat six times with the last FPTC going around the last CH 3 of ROUND 1. Finish the round with CH 2 and a SS through the SS from ROUND 2, which you can now pull tight. Again, keep the new SS loose enough to get the hook through at the end of ROUND 4. 39 ST in total ROUND 4 Use the same colour as ROUND 1 and tighten the SS from ROUND 2 CH 2, 19 SC, (1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 SC into the same ST - the point of the heart), 19 SC. Finish the row with CH 2 and a SS through the SS from ROUND 3, which you can now pull tight. Keep the new SS loose enough to get the hook through it at the end of the round. 41 ST in total ROUND 5 Same colour as ROUND 4 CH 3, 20 HDC, (1 HDC, 1 DC, 1 HDC into the same ST -the point of the heart), 20 HDC, CH 4, finish the heart off by cutting the yarn and turning the last CH into a knot. 43 ST in total Use a needle to thread the yarn end through the SS from ROUND 4.
ROUND 6 This is the slightly tricky bit. Using the same colour as ROUND 2 keep the yarn behind the work and insert the hook into the SS from ROUND 4 (you might need to use a smaller hook for this. I use a 2mm) YO and pull the yarn through the SS Change back to the correct size hook CH 1 by inserting the hook between the CH 2 from ROUND 4 and CH 3 from ROUND 5 Insert the hook between the posts of the fist and second HDC of ROUND 5 YO and draw the yarn through the loop on the hook. You just made a SS around the post of the HDC. Continue with SS to the end of ROUND 5 (43 ST), CH 1 Take up the smaller hook again and insert it into the same SS you started the round with. Make sure the loop on the hook is as big as the other ST in the round. (You may notice that the knotted chain from ROUND 5 is a bit loose, don t worry, you ll pul lthis tight when sewing in the ends.) YO pull yarn up and cut with enough length to sew in the end. Thread onto a needle and insert the needle into CH 1 of ROUND 6.
Turn the heart over and sew in the ends, starting at ROUND 1. Make sure you pull the yarn tight enough so the SSs are invisible (be careful not to over tighten though!) Looks quite nice from the wrong side too. Don t forget to block your creation, it really does improve the look of it. Here s how I do it.
Here s the diagram. Please make sure you ve read the tutorial first though, or ROUND 3 and ROUND 6 will be very confusing. You can use this heart for many different things, such as a garland, like I did, or cute little Valentine s Day decorations, even key chain decorations (although you might want to sew the crochet heart onto a piece of felt/fabric to make it more sturdy. Be creative! And please send me photos (stephanie@radiate.co.za ) of your completed hearts so I can share them with everyone in a future post. Or if you re on INSTAGRAM you can tag the photo #loveabagfullofcrochet and @stephaniedavies